Couple who played bride and groom in a fake wedding video marry for real exactly 13 years later

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Carrie and Ian even tied the knot at the same church as their pretend wedding, which they'd participated in as part of a video to be shown in schools.

A couple who posed as a fake bride and groom in a school video have tied the knot for real in the same church exactly 13 years later.

When ‘bride’ Carrie Horner, 36, first walked down the aisle of Holy Trinity Church in Fareham, Hampshire, where she’s from, to greet her ‘groom,’ Ian Horner, 34, they were just acting as part of a religious education video for schools – losing touch soon after.

Personal trainer Carrie, who married Ian legally in June 2017, said: “The fake wedding itself was so much fun to film. All my family were extras as we'd been having a party anyway just around the corner, so they decided to come along.

Carrie had her cousin Brooke as a bridesmaid at both weddings (PA Real Life/Collect)

"Afterwards, we all went back to ours for a barbeque – Ian included. We took pretend cake cutting photos and messed around, joking that it was our reception. We had no idea we'd be doing it for real 13 years later."

Carrie first met assistant deputy manager and events worker Ian back in 2003, when the pair were working as Butlins Redcoats in Bognor Regis, West Sussex,over the Christmas season.

She added: "I thought he was absolutely mad, but loads of fun. He had lovely blue eyes."

Although they were just friends, looking back, they now realise there was always an unspoken attraction between them.

And a year after they met, in 2004, Carrie's hairdresser mum Caroline mentioned that the local church, Holy Trinity, was looking for volunteers to play a wedding party in a video to be circulated around schools in the area.

After agreeing to play the bride, Carrie asked around at Butlins to see if any of her male colleagues could be her groom - and Ian jumped at the chance.

Carrie and Ian on their honeymoon in Canada (PA Real Life/Collect)

“I was happy it was him, he’s so fun and I knew he’d good job” she said.

Following their pretend nuptials, Carrie and Ian drifted apart, with him heading off to work in Cyprus and her touring the UK with a theatre company.

They exchanged the occasional text message, but were properly thrown back into each other’s lives in 2013, when they reconnected on Facebook.